1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a film cartridge by inserting a rolled photographic film into a cartridge with one open end, which is held in position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, a photographic film is produced and packaged by preparing a photographic film of given size, rolling the photographic film, placing the rolled photographic film into a cartridge, and inserting the film cartridge into a case (outer package). Various apparatus have heretofore been proposed to produce a film cartridge by inserting a film roll wound on a spool into a cartridge.
For example, as shown in FIG. 36 of the accompanying drawings, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 10-258806 discloses an apparatus having a pair of openable and closable jaw members 1, 2 having a predetermined shape for closing a preformed shell 4 around a film roll 3. The jaw members 1, 2 are operatively coupled to an actuator 8 by a series of pivot shafts 5a through 5e and connecting rings 6, 7.
The jaw members 1, 2 can be opened and closed a plurality of times by the actuator 8. Therefore, the jaw members 1, 2 can chuck the preformed shell 4 as a cartridge barrel and insert the film roll 3 into the preformed shell 4 in an inserting station, and deliver a cartridge to a cartridge capping station. After the cartridge is capped, the jaw members 1, 2 can transfer the capped cartridge to a next process, after which the jaw members 1, 2 return to the inserting station where a preformed shell 4 is chucked and a film roll 3 is inserted into the preformed shell 4.
In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 36, the preformed shell 4 is of a widely open shape in order to allow the film roll 3 to be inserted horizontally into the preformed shell 4. The jaw members 1, 2 need to be opened and closed through a considerable large angle for gripping the preformed shell 4. The jaw members 1, 2 are opened and closed a plurality of times by the actuator 8, and are angularly moved for transferring the cartridge between the two stations. To permit the jaw members 1, 2 to make such actions, the jaw members 1, 2 have a number of pivot shafts 5a through 5e, and hence their overall structure is considerably complex and large.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing a film cartridge highly accurately and efficiently with an effectively reduced apparatus size and a simple arrangement.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.